Finance Group – Fall 2023

CMST&230 Small Group Communication, Green River College

Group Members: Alina Anderson, Annie Bui-Hoàng, JP Alexander Rico, Mary Trickett, Rhosalie Gayle Perry, Kyle Rios

Problem Identification

Burnout caused by chronic stress leads to fatigue, lack of motivation, and decreased interest in academics. While a few students may not experience burnout, many still succumb to its effects.

Problem Analysis

Mental burnout is a complex issue caused by chronic excessive stress in personal or professional life. It can result from factors like work pressure, long hours, unmanageable expectations, or lack of control over tasks. This condition has negative effects on emotional, mental, and physical well-being, leading to symptoms such as chronic fatigue, cognitive difficulties, decreased motivation, and emotional exhaustion. It also has detrimental impacts on personal relationships, productivity, and overall quality of life. Addressing mental burnout requires identifying its causes and implementing strategies for stress management, self-care, and seeking professional support.

Solution Criteria

The solution criteria for the Small Wins group project is that it must be the achievement of a goal or task consistent with the definition of a group from our text. That is, the project includes three or more people interacting who both influence and are influenced by one another. (Rothwell, 2019, p. 24). The Small Wins project must include a community service component, with our group determining what is both our “community” and who is being “served.” However, the project must have an actionable activity that is conducted by all the members. 

Further, the project must be accomplished within the provided timeline of four weeks, along with required documentation and support as described in the assignment. 

Lastly, the project needs to be consistent with Green River College’s guidelines for the safety and security of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solution Suggestions

Communicating with professionals and obtaining their insights on burnout prevention results gave us a better understanding of the causes and effective solutions to combat it. Our group is creating awareness of chronic stress leading to burnout in the student community.

Solution Evaluation and Selection

 Our solution is not a “one size fits all.” However, it was selected and implemented based on “most” criteria. Selecting solutions to implement that would be easy and cost-effective. We want to make the students aware of the symptoms and how to locate resources.

Solution Implementation

Around finals week, our peers would be experiencing burnout. Our members did community outreach on campus. They interviewed and asked students questions. We wanted to see to what extent their knowledge of burnout was and inform them of ways to prevent it, what signs to look for, and where to get support. At the end, we offered our flyer with information and resources to spread our message. This helped create a line of support, helping those with burnout or who have or will experience it.    

Conclusions

The magnitude of the problem and the growing consequences of student burnout is a complex and multifaceted problem. There is no single solution to address burnout, but we can start by bringing awareness and information to the people. Handing out flyers with what symptoms to look for and the resources to contact for help was a small win for a large problem.

References

Rothwell, J.D. (2019). In mixed company: Communicating in small groups and teams (10th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Todd Marcus, (2019) “Most Common College Burnout Signs To Avoid” https://prepexpert.com/college-burnout-signs/

Alexandra Michel (2016) Burnout and the Brain, Association for Psychogical Science https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/burnout-and-the-brain